Get ready to upgrade your nacho game with these delicious and crispy air fryer nachos! Classic simple, no mess with Tex-Mex toppings of cheese, refried beans and jalapeños. Nachos in the air fryer, will change your nacho loving world. You’ll get perfectly melted cheese and crispy chips every time, making these nachos a crowd-pleasing snack or appetizer. Forget those messy mountains of hard to eat nachos, and take your snack game to the next level!
Table of contents
These air fryer nachos are simple in flavor with a bite of heat from a fresh jalapeno, creamy with refried beans, and cheesy with grated cheddar.
Nachos have always been a wildly popular appetizer. And a popular style is to heap as many ingredients as possible on a pile of chips for a big showy display. Commonly referred to as “loaded nachos”.
No matter what recipe or method I’ve tried, the end result is chips mingled in that pile that are simply bare of ingredients, or soggy because too much salsa landed their way.
That version can end up as a tangled mountain where nachos are hard to serve and messy to eat.
Enter the single serve nacho experience.
Your guests will appreciate these easy to eat nachos. And you’ll appreciate the ease in making nachos in the air fryer.
Simplify the process by placing a ingredients on a single chip so each and every chip carries that cheesy crispy texture. Not to mention a single, easy to eat bite of nacho that’s pure in flavor.
And to make things ever better, serve these nachos with a bowl of salsa for dipping.
And why not use your air fryer for an even crispier version. Air fryer nachos turn out crispy, cheesy and and are a no-mess alternative.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Let’s take a look.
- Tortilla Chips. Your favorite brand. Round or triangle shape.
- Refried Beans. Canned, makes this an easy fix.
- Grated Cheddar Cheese.
- Slices of fresh Jalapeno Pepper.
- Salsa, your favorite brand.
Swaps and Substitutions
- Tortilla Chips: We like to use round tortilla chips. Tortilla triangles will also work well.
- Refried beans: Make this an easy fix by using your favorite brand of canned refried beans. Using Instant Pot Refried Beans make this an extra special treat. Or switch out pinto bean refried beans for black bean refried beans.
- Grated Cheese: Medium cheddar is our choice for nachos, but choose white cheddar, pepper jack cheese or even Muenster. Muenster is a great melting cheese and used in many Mexican recipes, like tamales.
- Salsa: Any purchased salsa will work for these air fryer nachos, but try Homemade Restaurant Style Salsa, or even a homemade Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde.
- Jalapeno Peppers: Fresh sliced jalapeno pepper is recommended for this recipe, but you can certainly substitute jarred pickled jalapenos. Just place them on a paper towel and pat dry to absorb some of the pickling liquid. Pickled jalapenos dripping in the brine solution may result in a soggy nacho.
Step by Step Instructions – It’s Easy
How to make nachos in the air fryer? This method is quick, easy, mess free and yields perfect little appetizer bites.
- Step 1: Using a fork, place about one tablespoon of refried beans on each tortilla chip.
- Step 2: Add a slice of fresh jalapeno pepper on top of the refried beans.
- Step 3: Place about a tablespoon of grated cheese on top of the jalapeno pepper and the refried beans. Press the cheese a bit with your fingers so it will stay on the chip.
- Step 4: Preheat your air fryer to 380 degrees and place the prepared nachos on your air fryer tray or fryer basket. My tray will hold 9 chips at a time, so working in batches, cook for each batch two minutes, or until cheese is nicely melted.
Variations
Variations for these air fryer nachos will come in the way of toppings. But since we’re making single chips nachos, be careful not to load the chips up with too many ingredients. They’ll just fall off. The beauty of these nachos is their simplicity.
- Once the nachos are out of the air fryer, use a small spoon and drizzle with Mexican Crema. Mexican Crema is a thinner version of our commercial sour cream, which is a thicker product. If using American sour cream, dilute with a little milk to thin.
- Guacamole is a perfect and traditional topping for nachos. Provide a bowl of guacamole and a spoon for topping the nachos after they’re cooked.
- Cotija Cheese. We love Cotija cheese and use it a lot in practically every Mexican dish we make. It’s not a good melting cheese, as it resembles feta, so just crumble Cotija over the finished nachos.
- Pickled Onions: Friends don’t let friends eat Mexican food without pickled red onions. Pull out a few rings of pickled onions. Pat them dry and slice them into one-inch strands. Once you’ve dipped the air fryer nacho into the salsa, top with a little sliver of this wonderfully sweet condiment. Again, this is a topping to be used once the nachos are cooked and after taking that dip in the salsa.
- Cilantro: Provide a small bowl of single cilantro leaves. Once you’ve dipped the cooked nacho into the salsa, top with a small cilantro leaf.
- Ground Beef: Want to make air fryer nachos with ground beef? Use ground beef instead of refried beans. Simply cook and prepare ground beef using your favorite Homemade Taco Seasoning. Using your clean fingers, or a small spoon, mound a tablespoon of the ground beef onto the chip. Use a lean ground beef, so there’s no grease to make the chip soggy. Press the ground beef as firmly as you can on the chip as to not break the chip. Seasoned cooked ground chicken would also work well here. Continue with the recipe.
Pro Tip: Make your own homemade tortilla chips. Cut white or yellow soft corn tortillas into quarters (wedges). Heat about ½ inch of canola or other neutral oil in a fry pan until it reaches 350 degrees. I like to use my cast iron skillet. Fry the tortilla chip wedges 1 – 2 minutes per side or until they turn golden. Drain on paper towels and while the chips are still hot, sprinkle lightly with salt and a dash of chile powder, or even Tajine seasoning works well here.
Tips For Success
- What Not To Use: Toppings such as sliced olives, chopped avocado or chopped tomatoes will simply fall off when dipping the chips into salsa. I don’t recommend these and my vote once again goes for simplicity. You want a finished nacho chip where the melted cheese has enclosed the ingredients into a nice little cheesy package.
- Watch Them Close: Nachos in the air fryer cook in a jiff. And just like conventional ovens, air fryers vary in their capacity and cooking power. As soon as that cheese is nice and bubbly, your air fryer nachos are ready to eat.
- Grate Your Own Cheese: I’m a big cheerleader for grating ones own cheese. Packaged grated cheese contain ingredients to keep the cheese from clumping. This results in a cheese that doesn’t melt as creamy or evenly.
- Use Air Fryer Tray Liners: Once that cheese starts melting, some is surely bound to melt onto the tray of your air fryer. Use air fryer tray liners for easy clean up. Before I purchased my liners, I’d line the tray with aluminum foil and poke lots of holes in the foil. (so the air could circulate).
FAQ’s
Easy! The heat of a jalapeno pepper lies in the veins and seeds. To lessen the heat index of a jalapeno pepper, simply cut off the top of the pepper, and using a narrow handle of a spoon or fork, simply scrape out the inside of the pepper. This will allow you to still be able to slice the pepper into rings.
Absolutely. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Simply place the chips and the toppings on a sheet pan. Cook for five minutes, or until that cheese is nice and bubbly.
Yes, corn tortilla chips, refried beans, cheese and fresh salsa products are usually naturally gluten free. But please check labels on the cans to make sure no added ingredients are hiding gluten.
Recipe for Air Fryer Nachos
Simple and elegant, these air fryer nachos are much easier to eat than a pile of chips with the toppings piled high, here and there. Your guests will thank you for a true Tex-Mex nacho that’s a joy to eat.
These nachos in the air fryer is a simple appetizer for a game day, or a light lunch or dinner.
And if you’re looking for even more appetizer recipes, don’t miss my Appetizer Category. You’ll find lots of great small bite recipes, including the most popular on my site for Campechana, Mexican Shrimp Cocktail.
Where did I learn to make this recipe? My son served air fryer nachos as an appetizer for our Mother’s Day Mexican themed brunch. A recipe adapted from Lisa Fain.
More Mexican Themed Appetizer Recipes
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Easy Air Fryer Nachos
Equipment
- Air fryer
Ingredients
- 24 corn tortillas round or triangle shape
- ½ cup refried beans canned or homemade
- 1 ½ cups Medium cheddar cheese grated
- 24 slices jalapeno pepper sliced thin. Or use pickled jalapeno peppers.
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 380 degrees.
- Top each chip with 1 tablespoon of refried beans,. Top that with one slice of jalapeno pepper. Then 1 tablespoon of shredded cheddar cheese. As you build the nachos, place them on the air fryer rack, single layer.
- Working in batches, cook each batch for two minutes or until cheese is melted.
- Serve with guacamole, sour cream and salsa for dipping.
Notes
Tips For Success
- What Not To Use: Toppings such as sliced olives, chopped avocado or chopped tomatoes will simply fall off when dipping the chips into salsa. I don’t recommend these and my vote once again goes for simplicity. You want a finished nacho chip where the melted cheese has enclosed the ingredients into a nice little cheesy package.
- Watch Them Close: Air fryer tacos cook in a jiff. And just like conventional ovens, air fryers vary in their capacity and cooking power. As soon as that cheese is nice and bubbly, your air fryer nachos are ready to eat.
- Grate Your Own Cheese: I’m a big cheerleader for grating your own cheese. Packaged grated cheese contain ingredients to keep the cheese from clumping. This results in a cheese that doesn’t melt as creamy or evenly.
- Use Air Fryer Tray Liners: Once that cheese starts melting, some is surely bound to melt onto the tray of your air fryer. Use air fryer tray liners for easy clean up.
Nutrition
Air Fryer Nachos … They’re What’s for An Appetizer
Why Trust These Recipes? Lea Ann Brown has lived, worked and played in Colorado for 45 years. She has immersed herself in the Colorado Culinary space, is a Culinary School Graduate and publishes her Colorado food Blog, Cooking On The Ranch.
Neat idea! I don’t have an air fryer, but a convection oven would work pretty well, I’d guess. Plus I can make a whole sheet pan of these beauties for a party. Thanks for the idea!
While I like nachos, I’ve never been a big fan of tackling the pile plus many of the chips are bare, so this version really appeals to me.